WASHINGTON — The latest report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force said Indiana must increase mitigation efforts to combat the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases.
The report, obtained by ABC News, said Indiana needs to implement key state and local policies with an additional focus on "uniform behavioral change including masking, physical distancing, hand hygiene, no indoor gatherings outside of immediate households, and aggressive testing" to find the asymptomatic individuals responsible for the majority of infectious spread.
"Despite the severity of this surge and the threat to the hospital systems, many state and local governments are not implementing the same mitigation policies that stemmed the tide of the summer surge; that must happen now," the report said.
The report classifies Indiana in the red zone for cases, indicating 101 or more new cases per 100,000 population. Indiana has the fifth-highest rate in the country. Indiana is also in the red zone for test positivity, indicating a rate at or above 10.1% with the 10th highest rate in the country.
Three counties alone — Marion, Lake and Allen — accounted for 25.9% of new cases in the state.
The report also notes that daily deaths in Indiana continue to rise rapidly. The 7-day rolling average rose to 76 per day, which is "far above the peak set in spring."
According to the report, hospitals are reporting capacity and staffing constraints due to COVID-19 patients, especially in the northwest part of the state and all counties in Indiana have moderate or high levels of community transmission.
"We share the strong concern of Indiana's leaders that the current situation is extremely critical with more favorable outcomes dependent on the collective effort of Indiana's residents," the report said. "Difficult but temporary changes in personal behavior are key to limiting disease and death until we bring the pandemic to an end with immunization; this messaging must be delivered frequently and by all effective modalities."
